Fortune Favors the Brave
by Kerith
Summary: Roswell and Smallville, two small towns in the middle of nowhere with a lot of alien activity. What if the two towns had more connections than just at the surface?
1. Chapter 1

Fortune Favors the Brave

Disclaimer: Neither Rachelle nor I own anything in Roswell and Smallville, although we wish we did! The title, Fortune Favors the Brave, belongs to Tim Rice and Elton John, from the Disney musical, Aida.

A/N This is fic is written by two authors, Alex (MagickFantasy86) and Rachelle(DarkSorceress). Rachelle has a tendency to lurk, but you'll see me a lot. Also, the two of us will be moving to opposite sides of the country in a few months, and thus we will have to correspond via e-mail. How this will affect the outcome of the story, I don't know, but it will keep going, even if we only talk to each other twice a year.

Synopsis: Roswell and Smallville, two small towns in the middle of nowhere with a lot of alien activity. What if the two towns had more connections than just at the surface? Especially considering our favorite human and nonhuman main teen-aged characters.

Now onwards we venture.

Prologue- The Beginning

1986

Nancy Parker rubbed her eyes tiredly before returning her gaze to the artificially lit road before her. She yawned slightly and flipped on the radio to try to stay alert. Her mind started wandering away from the monotony of the tiny road into Roswell, replaying the evening. It was definitely good to see her sister after so many years. The restaurant noise and conversation flowed through her mind. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard for a second before scanning the empty, flat expanse of the road ahead.

Some sort of debris twinkled softly on the road. She squinted ahead of her , then shrugged, dismissing it as a pile of beer bottles from a crashed teenage part. Nancy looked over to the passenger seat of her car for the phone to call her sister, make sure she was on her way home. Nancy gripped the phone in her hand and lifted her eyes to the road. A little girl stood frozen near the edge of the street, staring into the headlights. She seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. Nancy was mesmerized, unable to stop the car from speeding toward the child. "Oh God!" The spell broke as a phantom hand latched onto the girl's forearm, ripping her from the road.

Nancy swerved her car to the dirt on the opposite side of the road, pushing the car into park. She threw open her car door and knelt at the roadside, staring across the way. There were two of them now, a boy and a girl. 'They can't be more than three years old,' she thought. The boy stared intently at her with unrelenting distrust, as if he blamed her for nearly crashing into his... friend? sister? The girl smiled softly, slipping her hand into the boy's hand to pacify his anger.

"Hi, honey," Nancy said. "Where did you come from?" The girl laughed and scratched her head. She took a step onto the road. Laughing still, she smiled at Nancy and turned back to the little boy. The two stared at each other intently, seeming to communicate silently for a few moments before the little boy took the girl's hand and hesitantly stepped onto the road. The boy and girl looked once more up at Nancy. Working quickly, afraid the boy might convince the girl to run from her, Nancy wrapped the two in blankets from her car's trunk and ushered the children into the car. With the two little children safely buckled into the back seat, Nancy drove anxiously back to Roswell.

One week later:

Ring. Ring. Nancy picked up the phone in the back room of the diner she and her husband, Jeff, owned, known as the Crashdown.

"Hello?" Nancy asked hesitantly into the mouthpiece of the phone.

"Nancy?" Sheriff Jim Valenti's voice came through the phone. "About those children you brought in last week..." Nancy's heart began to race. "I need you to come over to the orphanage as soon as you have time. Nancy? Nancy?" Jim's voice echoed throughout the empty back room, as the phone swung, gently hitting the wall, hanging from its cord.

Jim met Nancy just inside the doors of the orphanage. Soft wailing could be heard echoing off the ceramic tile floors.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked, her breath coming in short gasps.

"We don't know. She's been crying since we brought Kyle home."

"Kyle?" Nancy grabbed onto Jim, stopping him.

"The boy. Michelle and I adopted him." Nancy nodded reflectively before continuing forward.

"Has anyone asked her what's wrong?"

"We've tried. Neither she nor Kyle has spoken a word since you brought them in last week." Nancy and Jim pushed through the doors that led to the main children's room.

The moment Nancy stepped into the room, the wailing stopped. The small brown haired girl sitting in the middle of the floor turned around, her eyes shining. To the astonishment of everyone in the room, the girl opened her mouth and uttered the first word anyone had ever hear her say.

"Mommy!"

Laura Lang searched the dark landscape for familiar neon lights. The desert stretched on for miles all around her. She sighed, glancing down at the gas gage in her car.

"Hallelujah," she whispered, speeding past a sign boasting a Route 66 in ten miles. She sped along the deserted road to the gas station breathing in the neon lights of civilization after the hour and a half of nothingness since she left Roswell. She connected the nozzle to her car and ran inside as the gas flooded into the tank. She waited until the pump snapped off and reached out to pay the clerk, grabbing a Baby Ruth as an after thought. She dropped her change into the Plexiglas box proclaiming support for children in Africa, the worn faces on the poster tugging on her heartstrings. She shred the wrapper on the candy, letting the chocolate coat her mouth as she pushed out the door.

"Oh my goodness!" She thrust her hands out to catch herself as she fell toward the ground. She flipped around to curse the object that tripped her; her tongue froze in her mouth. Two little girls sat on the curb staring at her with wide eyes. Laura pushed herself up onto her knees, still clutching the chocolate in her fist. the first girl shivered a little under the fluorescent lights, hiding her eyes under her sheet or brown hair. The second child, a blonde girl, studied Laura with a critical expression on her face, glancing longingly at the candy occasionally. "Here, take it..." Laura unfolded her fist, bearing the chocolate. The blonde girl snatched the candy from her hand, greedily pushing the candy toward her mouth. The other girl stopped her arm and the two of them locked eyes. Laura's eyes flicked between the two girls until, eventually, the blonde girl sighed. She glanced at the candy in her small hand. The candy shuddered and split itself down the center. When both girls had had their chocolate, they looked up and met Laura's shocked, wide eyes. "What are you?"

The girls exchanged a glance and looked back into Laura's eyes. "Where did you come from?" Laura struggled to keep her voice even. The dark haired girl stretched out her arm, her eyes expectant. Laura moved to touch the girl's hand. At the instant they touched, a jolt of power rocketed through her body, pushing flashes of images into Laura's head: an explosion... a feeling of fear and confusion... the moonlight on the sand... the girls scrambling on the Roswellian desert... a sense of infinite loss... faces of a boy and a girl smiling, emanating a feeling of love... the gas station lights... Laura's face. An intense wave of emotion passed through Laura, causing her pulse to race. Tears cut paths down her cheeks as she opened her eyes and looked down at the girl. The child squeezed her hand and stared up at Laura, silently pleading with her eyes. "Come on, honey. I'll take care of you." Her voice cracked as she glanced at the two girls. "Both of you, I promise."

"What do you mean I can't adopt them both?" Laura Lang sat, perched nervously on the edge of her chair, the phone clutched lightly to her ear.

"I'm sorry ma'am." The woman's voice was broken in the ear piece. "But you husband's income and yours combined are simply not enough to support both girls. Besides, the blonde girl has already been adopted."

"What?" Laura's heart began to race. What if someone found out the girls were different. They could be in danger.

"Could you at least tell me the family's name?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but that's against our policy. Their records are supposed to be sealed until the child turns eighteen."

"But the girls are sisters." Laura could feel the despair rushing through her.

"Ma'am, we don't know that for sure." The woman's high nasal voice was really beginning to piss Laura off.

"They were found together in the middle of nowhere, naked! They were supporting each other! What else are we supposed to think? Please, a name, that's all I ask. Just so they can still see each other every once in a while." There were a few moments of silence.

"Gabe Sullivan."

"Excuse me?"

"His name is Gabe Sullivan."

Smallville, 1989

Thunder reverberated through the ground. Lightning, an eerie shade of green, flashed against the purple clouds. Great glowing rocks fell from the sky. Panic ran throughout the small town in the middle of Kansas. In the middle of town, a young girl with long, brown hair cried out in horror as she watched her parents destroyed by the strange glowing rocks. The intensity of the falling rocks until three large booms echoed through the air. The meteors stopped falling. In the following silence, three unknown pairs of eyes looked out with curiosity into the deepening darkness.

Roswell

Nancy sat nervously in the back room couch, wringing her hands, staring intently at the television screen in the corner. She watched, holding her breath, as the glowing meteors fell on Smallville, Kansas. The young girl, now Liz Parker, was over at the Valenti residence with Kyle and Michelle Valenti. Sheriff Valenti stood hovering over Nancy.

"I don't understand," he said, glancing down at Nancy. "I've never seen anything like this. Maybe we should wait unti-"

"No." Nancy broke in, shaking her head. "If something this terrible is happening in Smallville, I want to know my family is safe." She looked up at him, trying not to cry.

"All right... I'll head out and call the Sheriff's office there and on the way back, I'll check on the kids."

"Oh! And Amy too!"

"What? Amy who?" Nancy raised her eyebrows.

"Amy DeLuca."

"What is she doing out there? Nevermind. I'll be back when I hear anything." Valenti picked his hat up from the vacant seat and pushed through the door to the main cafe floor. He walked across the floor and raised his hand to push open the door. Thunk! He froze as a hollow crash echoed behind him. He whirled around to see several chairs had fallen from their inverted positions on top of the tables. Nancy burst through the door.

"What happened?" Jim knelt down next to the nearest chair to him.

"I don't know. Something shook them off I guess. I need to go check on our kids and that meteor shower."

Traffic was terrible. People were running around frantically, confused as to what had just happened. Riots were breaking; people were threatening to loot. The police station was strained for personnel and as such, it was dark before Jim finally reached home. Walking in through the front door of his small ranch style home he called out "Michelle!" but no one answered.

"Michelle!" he called again. Silence remained in the household.

Jim found both Kyle and Liz staring intently through the back door window, which looked out into the desert.

"Hey Kyle, do you know where your mother is?" Neither child answered him. "Hey kids, what are you looking at?" Liz turned to glance at him with her large, brown eyes.

"They're coming," she said. Small creases formed on Jim's forehead as he frowned.

"Who's coming?" But both children were once again staring intently through the window.

At that moment the phone rang.

Jim rushed to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sheriff?" Deputy Hanson's voice came over the line, barely audible above the static. "We've got a situation down at the station. A kid was found naked, wandering around out in the desert." Jim sighed and pushed his hand through his hair.

"All right. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Three hours later, two more children were brought in after being found wandering naked in the desert by Phillip and Diane Evans, two lawyers who were thinking of moving into the area.

Smallville, a few hours earlier.

"Gabe, she is the most adorable girl I've ever seen!" Amy DeLuca sat in the living room of the new home recently bought by Gabe Sullivan, an old college buddy of Amy's. Gabe's adopted daughter, Chloe, sat reading Dr. Suess on the floor.

"Yeah, she's a beauty, isn't she " He reached down to ruffle her hair, causing the girl to giggle.

"Daaaaaddyyy!" Chloe swatted at his hand and picked up her book. Amy laughed.

"Gabe?"

"Hmmm?"

"I have a sort of strange question." She paused, listening to the sounds beyond the window. "IS something going on outside?"

"What?" His eyes unfocused as he listened. Crashes muffled by distance echoed off of the walls. "I don't know. Probably just a distant hailstorm or someone working outside. Don't worry about it."

"Oh." Gave raised an eyebrow.

"Was that the question, Amy?" She glanced down at Chloe, a ghost of a sad smile playing across her lips.

"No..." She slid off the couch to the floor, sitting next to Chloe. the girl smiled up at Amy and offered her book to share. "Gabe, I want this."

"The book?"

"No," she laughed. "A little girl, a daughter. Do you think I could... I mean..."

"Amy, I have no doubt you'd raise a beautiful daughter." Chloe's small squeaking yawn broke into their conversation. Gave and Amy glanced down a the top of Chloe's blonde head and smiled. " I think it's time to put this little lady to bed. You can stay if..." Amy waved her hand in negation.

"I need to get going anyway. It was nice seeing you, though."

"Same here." Gabe and Amy stood up and hugged. " You look after yourself, now. And tell Brian I said hi."

"Will do." They walked to the door and Gabe opened it slightly for Amy. Amy peaked her head out. " Looks like your storm is almost over. See ya." And then Amy stepped out into the darkening evening. She cast a final glance up at the sky before and orange glow caught her eye. "Strange..." She looked at her watch for a moment before getting into her car and driving toward the light.

As she got closer, the headlights on her Jetta illuminated the edge of a cornfield. The fire brightened the night, consuming the crop. Amy drew a little closer, squinting her eyes, trying to see the source of the blaze.

"Oh my..." She breathed. Tongues of flame leapt around a bulky black shadow that from her vantage point looked surprisingly like a wrecked car. She threw open the car door and ran toward the shape. "I'm coming... I can help you!" She yelled toward the unseen victim of the crash. When she was close to fifty yards away, the car exploded, sending a shock wave through the field, lifting Amy off of her feet and slamming her onto her back several feet away. "Hold...on," she muttered before passing out, surrounded by scorched cornstalks.

Amy blinked her eyes several times, trying to focus them. She rolled her head to the side to try and ease the throbbing behind her eyes. A soft hand pushed the hair off of her face.

"Who?" She looked over and met a pair of green eyes. Amy sat up, wincing slightly, to stare at the naked little girl that seemed to be trying to take care of her. The two stared at each other for awhile before the girl glanced over her shoulder at the smoldering remains of the "car." "Is that where you came from?" Amy whispered. The girl looked back at Amy, seeming to ignore the question and held out her hand a with a smile. Amy's heart melted and a tear slid down her cheek. She scooped up the girl and ambled slowly to the Jetta. When she closed the driver door and brought the engine to life, she looked at the girl buckled into the back seat and smiled. Amy put her car in drive and drove on instinct rather than knowledge. As the anxiety mounted in her veins, she put more pressure on the accelerator, tearing out onto the nearly empty highway and past the sign "You are now leaving Smallville. 150 miles to Metropolis." Amy flicked her eyes to the child again, gripping the wheel harder. "150 miles..." she murmured, flicking the turn signal to merge into the fast lane. "Jetta don't fail me now."

Charles Whitman sighed heavily as he braced himself for the helicopter landing. He hated the bureaucratic bullshit that came with these things. He was an engineer, not a business man, but Lionel Luthor often seemed to care more about the earnings than the actual product. There was no point to coming with Lionel on these plant tours. Lionel didn't care if the plant operation was working perfectly or if the plant was spewing out dangerous chemicals: he only cared if a profit was being made, no matter how he had to get one. Smallville, Kansas was merely one step in a long, long list of plants to see.

Charles Whitman had just stepped out of the helicopter behind Lex and Lionel Luthor, when a heated blast at his back threw him into the air. He landed on a farmer's forgotten haystack twenty yards from the helicopter. Wincing as he moved, Charles turned to look at the helicopter. Black smoke bellowed up from the leaping flames coming from the ruins. Embedded in the hull of the helicopter was a large glowing green rock. Charles glanced around for other survivors. He found Lionel Luthor lying unconscious, but not seriously hurt, a few yards from him; Lex was nowhere to be found.

Charles stumbled dizzily into the neighboring cornfield, searching for the boy. He might not have like Lionel Luthor, but his son was still an innocent... for now. He stumbled dazedly into an open portion of the field. Lex Luthor lay in the center, all the hair gone from his head. A young, dark haired boy of about six stood peering over Lex. The boy had no clothes on. As Charles took another step forward, the boy turned his head sharply toward Charles. The man and boy stood there for a few moments, staring at each other until sirens could be heard faintly in the distance. The boy tensed and Charles feared the boy might run off.

"Wait, don't go anywhere. Just stay here and I'll be back really soon. Okay?" The boy just stared at him, making no motions that he understood. Charles gingerly picked up Lex Luthor and carried the boy out to the waiting ambulances. The Paramedics tried to examine Charles, but he waved them off, insisting that all he needed was a phone to call his wife, Gloria.

"Metropolis, please," he said to the operator over the phone. "Honey? Can you drive down to Smallville? I can't talk about it over the phone. I'll show you when you get here. Bye, honey."

Making sure that no one saw him, Charles slipped back into the cornfield. He found the boy sitting patiently, exactly where Charles had left him.

The boy's eyes lit up excitedly when he saw Charles enter the clearing. The boy jumped up and tugged on Charles' hand- HARD, urging him further into the cornfield. Charles stumbled after the boy, wheezing in exhaustion , and blinked a few times when the two reached their destination.

Charles had to shake his head a few times to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. Standing in the middle of the field, barely hidden by the stalks, was a ship. It looked like on of the model space ships from an old fifties TV show. The boy touched the hull of the ship and it glowed slightly, seeming to recognize his touch.

"We're going to need a truck," Charles said to the surrounding cornfield.

Two weeks later, Charles Whitman was waiting nervously in Lionel Luthor's office in Metropolis. He and Gloria had been forced to hand the boy over to the authorities, but they had managed to get the ship out of the cornfield without anyone noticing, or so Charles hoped. The ship was now stored in a privately owned garage on the outskirts of Metropolis and only he and Gloria had the keys to the garage. But now, here he was, in Luthor's office. He sincerely hoped Lionel hadn't seen anything.

Lionel entered briskly through a side door and sat down with little ceremony, simply staring at Charles. Charles gulped slightly.

"Uh- how's you son, Lex, doing, Mr. Luthor?" He folded his hands neatly in his lap, trying to hide his anxiety. Lionel smiled slightly.

"Oh, he's doing fine. He seems to be perfectly healthy. I wanted to thank you, by the way, for helping him."

"Oh, it was nothi-"

"But that's not why I asked you in here."

"It's not?" Charles' voice shook slightly.

"No. I wanted to know if you saw anything... unusual that day." Charles' legs were shaking under the desk.

"Um- besides the glowing meteors... no." Charles hoped he hadn't sounded too scared. Lionel's smile grew smaller, if that was possible. He sighed slightly.

"Very well. That's all; you may go." Charles started to stand up, but then sat back down.

"Mr. Luthor, about that boy that I found." Luthor's eyebrows went up. "I was wondering if it was possible for Gloria and I to adopt him?" Luthor's smile grew wider than Charles had ever seen.

Later that day, Charles turned in his two weeks notice.

Back on the day of the meteor shower, a young married couple were driving on the dust country road in their brand new, red truck. They had almost reached their farm house when a car, wrecked by the meteors, blocked the road. Turning sharply, the man tried to avoid the flaming car, but only succeeded in flipping the truck off the road. The couple sat upside-down in silence. The heavy base of the truck started to crush the roof of the cabin. The couple grabbed each others hands, sure that this was the end.

The truck shuddered slightly as it began to rise. A small face peaked in through the window. The young boy with black hair smiled broadly as he continued to lift the truck. The couple spoke amazedly at the same time.

"Martha-"

"Jonathan!"

Roswell: September 19th, 1999

Liz Parker put the old faded photograph back into the pocket of her alien head shaped apron and smiled as she turned around. She glanced slightly at another table in her section where Max Evans and Michael Guerin sat as she wove her way between tables, heading toward the waitress station . Her best friend, Maria, who was waiting for her there, bumped Liz with her hip.

"You are so bad, girl!" They smiled at each other knowingly.

Plates clattered to the floor; the sound echoed through the busy cafe. All conversation stopped save for tow men sitting next to the wall.

"I want my money now!"

Liz froze in place as the gunshot rang throughout the cafe. She shuddered against the sharp pain in her stomach, falling to the floor. Thoughts ran frantically through her mind. _This is it. I'll never learn why I'm here. They'll find something different with me and I'll get dissected and then they'll suspect that Kyle is-_ She felt her uniform rip apart. A strong warm hand touched her stomach, sending shocks coursing through her blood. A deep voice that sent shivers down her back sounded over her fallen form. The voice sounded so desperate and familiar and loving-

"Liz! You have to look at me!"

A/N: Yes! We know Valenti wasn't the sheriff when Max, Isabel, and Michael were found. And we know that Max and Isabel were found first, but just work with us here! Hope you liked it!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: We don't own anything…except twenty cans of Spam…which we are willing to share. I mean…YUM! Anyway…to business…

A/N: For Roswell- Starts in Blood Brothers, although we've taken some liberties with it. So just work with us.

For Smallville- Starts in the beginning of the second season…so Lana already owns the Talon. Pete already knows about Clark but Lana has moved in with Chloe. So…On with the Show and All that Jazz.

Chapter 1:

The More We Find, The More We See, The More We Come To Learn 

Liz buried her head in her hands, staring at the cold, ceramic tile floor. Oh god, she thought. What am I supposed to do now? I can't change his blood otherwise he'll know I'm not human either. But I know Kyle is wrong. Max can't be our enemy; he just can't. Her head snapped up as the doors crashed open.

"What did you do?" Michael stormed through the doors toward Liz, followed closely by Maria.

"Michael!" Maria reached out and dropped her hand on his shoulder slightly. He jerked to a halt and fell back a few inches. She pulled her hand back quickly and he grabbed onto his shoulder in pain.

"Did you just-? Never mind. What the hell happened?" Isabel walked through the door behind the two quarrelers.

"Michael, calm down. Now, Liz, what the hell happened?"

"Max was taking me somewhere. We were driving down 285 south but there was a horse in the middle of the road and Max swerved to avoid it and we ended up in a ditch. That's when I blacked out and then I woke up in the ambulance. They said I was fine, but Max hadn't awoken yet." Isabel sat down in the chair behind her, mimicking Liz as her head fell into her hands.

"Oh God, Michael, what are we going to do? What if they take his blood? What if they find out what he is?"

"They won't happen alright? That isn't an option." Isabel sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"I hope you're right, Michael."

"Well can the doctors tell anything from Max's blood?" Liz tried to play the uninformed "human." Isabel sighed deeply, falling back into her chair.

"They can."

"We'll need to get that blood and switch it." Michael scowled, thinking. "Liz, we need some of your blood."

"NO!" Liz yelled a little too strongly. "I mean…they can tell the difference between male and female blood."

Isabel nodded in agreement but glanced at Michael in confusion over Liz's outburst.

"Hold on a minute, alright." He spun around to face Maria. "Your friend…that lanky kid…Whitman!"

"Yeah?" Maria narrowed her eyes in a scowl.

"Get him; we'll use his blood-."

"No, Michael, I won't."

"Why not? We're not going to kill him or anything."

"I won't do it, Michael! He's my friend. You're so insensitive! You only think about yourself!"

"Maria, I don't have-."

"I'll go…" Liz broke into their argument standing between them.

"Liz," Maria worked to steady her voice, "Please…he shouldn't be involved. I mean…uh…he could get thrown in jail for this." Liz reached out and squeezed Maria's wrist.

"He'll be fine." Liz turned and swept out the door.

"Finally," Michael sighed, "Someone listens to me."

"I'll be right back…" Maria ran past Michael, breaking away as he tried to grab her and fled into the ladies' room. She stared into the mirror. "Alex. . . I'll figure something out." She swung her arm, intending to lightly hit the paper towel dispenser. She jumped back when she heard the crash of her hand flattening the dispenser into a fresh crater in the brick wall of the bathroom. Her handprint was perfectly preserved in the stainless steel. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled open the door, cautious this time, slipping silently back into the waiting room with the others.

Smallville

Clark Kent rounded the corner of the now deserted school hallway, rushing to get to the Torch office while being mindful to keep his true speed hidden, just in case anybody was watching. His story on the previous day's football game was due about five minutes ago, and while Chloe might be somewhat forgiving of Clark's tendency to disappear in the middle of a conversation, when it came to her newspaper, she let nothing slide. As Clark skidded into the Torch office, he found Chloe sitting at her desk, staring intently at the computer screen. Hearing Clark enter, she glanced up from her monitor, one eyebrow raised.

"I know. I know." Clark raised his hands in a mock surrender. "I'm late." As Chloe chuckled to herself, Clark placed the floppy disk with her story on her desk and meandered behind her chair to peek at whatever held Chloe's interest.

"Local waitress miraculously healed after mysterious shooting? What's this, Chloe? Something new you're working on for the Wall of Weird?"

Chloe cleared her throat nervously and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Um…" She swallowed a shaky laugh. "Yeah, something like that." She closed out the window as quickly as possible, turned off her computer and spun around in her chair to face Clark. "So, do you need a ride home?"

Clark hesitated for a moment, startled by the sudden change in subject, but filed the thought away for the time being. "No, I'll walk. I need to think some things over. Listen, I've gotta go."

"Walk? But, Clark, your house is really-" Chloe found herself talking to an empty room. "Ugh. I hate it when he does that." With a resigned sigh, Chloe stood up, turned off the lights and headed home.

Clark looked around him at the deserted town. The clouds jerked darkly overhead, flashing forks of red lightning. He whirled around as a flaming boulder hurtled toward him from above. "Oh my god…" Suddenly the meteor shower intensified, pelting Smallville without mercy. A meteorite shattered on the ground near him, revealing a glowing green mineral. Clark shrunk back from the mineral as a crash, louder than the rest, echoed behind him. The ship, he thought. He turned and ran toward the sound, toward the crash. The world flashed by him… he was there in seconds. He looked out over the field at the ship burning among the crops. He sprinted to it, pulling on the door. He yanked it clean off of the ship and hurled it yards away from him. He bent to look inside, when he heard it. A soft gasp floated over the chaos to his ears.

"Lana?" he glanced over his shoulder at her staring at him. "Run!" Her eyes didn't seem to comprehend what they were seeing. "Lana, it's not…" He suddenly felt the air around him charged with energy. "Lana!" He flew through the air, tackling her as the explosion rocked through the field. He pushed himself up slightly to look down at her. She couldn't speak. She just stared up at him as if she couldn't recognize him. He sat up and pushed back away from her, struggling to think of an explanation. "Lana… I-" He couldn't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable. He could feel his skin heating up, his face flushing deep red.

"Clark!" Lana screamed through her silence, pointing at him in horror. "Oh god, Clark, fire!" He looked down, following her frantic pointing to show him the smoldering bush igniting the material of his shirt. Without thinking, he grabbed his shirt, still flaming, and threw it behind him, his eyes following the projectile until it landed a distance away. He turned to talk to Lana again but she was staring at his chest, bare and flawless. The flames hadn't even touched him.

Lana gasped as she pulled herself awake. Just a dream… only a dream, she chanted in her head, her finger still firmly pressed onto Clark's picture. Chloe rolled over in her sleep, forcing Lana back to reality. She couldn't get the images out of her head. Smallville in flames… Clark… She shook her head. Something was very strange about Clark Kent. "He was on fire…" she whispered into the darkness.

"What? I'm not fire. I'll take a Diet Coke for $400, Alex." Chloe murmured in her sleep. Lana laughed quietly to herself, pulling the blanket over her. As she fell asleep, the image of Clark looking down at her filled her mind.

When Chloe awoke in the morning, squinting against the sun streaming through the window, she found Lana perched on the edge of her bed, wringing her hands, a worn photo of Clark Kent resting on her lap.

"Lana?" Chloe asked, her voice thick with the morning. Lana paid her no heed, but continued to stare at the photo in front of her. "Lana!" Chloe grabbed Lana's hand startling Lana into reality. Now, fully wide awake, Chloe tightened her hold on Lana and, frowning, asked, "You okay?"

Shakily, Lana pulled her hand away from Chloe's grasp and with her other hand lifted Clark's picture and placed it on the bed beside her, face down.

"Do you ever wonder if we're not alone?" Chloe sat back, staring at Lana, still frowning.

"Of course. We've both always felt that others were supposed to be with us; that there were others like us somewhere. That's why I started the Wall of Weird, to look for any sign that they might be out there." Lana shook her head sharply, her long dark hair swirling around her face.

"No, I mean…not _like_ us, but like us, as in not of this earth, like us." Chloe said nothing for a few moments, her mouth open slightly, her forehead scrunched in concentration, focused solely on what Lana had just said.

"Lana, what are you talking about?" Lana took a deep breath, folded her hands on her lap and spoke softly.

"Last night, I dreamwalked Clark. And…and I think he saw me," Lana finished in a whisper. Chloe shot up.

"Lana, that's impossible!"

"I know! I know! But the fact remains that he looked directly at me."

"Ok, ok…what happened? There has to be a logical expla--"

"No!" Lana interrupted, "He saw me. He knew it was me. I was following him through town and the meteors started falling. They were glowing bright green! Then he just disappeared." Lana stared at Chloe searching her face for a hint of understanding. Chloe just raised an eyebrow a confused expression locked on her face. "I'm serious! He just looked off into the distance for a second and then he vanished. It took me a while to find him again. And then…he threw the door off of a spaceship and--"

"What!"

"Yeah, I said spaceship. I made a noise and he turned around. He tackled me."

"Wait a minute…why would he do that, huh?"

"Chloe! Focus, please, get your mind out of the gutter. He was saving me. Then he caught fire but it didn't hurt him at all. Them I woke up."

"How do you know he wasn't burned? Lana dropped her down to her lap turning away. She tried to stop herself from blushing.

"He threw his…um shirt off." Chloe leaned forward.

"Now we're talking. Details."

"Chloe!"

"Lana, forget about it. Boys are weird, we know this. It's called hormones."

"But…it was so real."

"Clark Kent probably wishes he was a superhero so he could save his damsel in distress." Chloe reached for Lana's hands. " Don't worry too much about it. Just get back to your normal daydreams of Kent naked." Chloe laughed as she ducked out of the path of the pillow aimed at her head. "Hey! I almost forgot. I found something." Lana straightened abruptly but then pursed her lips together in a small frown.

"Chloe, this isn't another one of your meteor-freak conspiracy theories, is it?" Chloe frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"_No_. And I'll have you know, there is something weird going on with the meteors. Just read the article." Lana placed the laptop on her bed and began to scan the article.

"What is this exactly?"

"This came from a paper in Mew Mexico…Roswell, New Mexico."

" 'Unexplained altercation led to a sudden shooting in local Crashdown Café. Witnesses state tha--"

"Give me that!" Chloe impatiently grabbed the laptop and scrolled through the article highlighting a passage with the mouse. "Read there!"

"Among one of the sketchier details is whether or not the waitress Elizabeth Parker, 16, was actually shot. Although witnesses say they are sure of her injury, she left the scene unharmed. Several theories are floating around about the health and miracle recovery of the girl including a claimed sighting of a silver handprint on her abdomen where she was said to be injured." Lana looked up her eyes wide. Chloe nodded, pushing the laptop closed with her hand.

"So what do you say now?"

"I say," Lana stood up and headed toward the door, "We're going to Roswell."

Clark lay, stretched out on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had woken up just before dawn from a very strange dream. He had been dreaming about the meteor shower and his ship, which wasn't that unusual, but Lana had shown up halfway through the dream. She had just… appeared… out of nowhere. Sure, he'd had dreams of Lana before, I mean come on, this was _Lana_, but the dreams had always been about her freaking out about his powers or where he was … um… kissing her. He rolled over onto his side, trying to think about something else… anything else. Finally, he just grabbed the phone, dialing quickly from memory.

"Hmmgh." A groggy grunt came over the line.

"Pete?"

"Huh?"

"Pete! Wake up, I need to talk to you."

"Clark? What could possibly be this important? I was sleeping, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I can't stop thinking about this dream."

"Oh god… goodnight, Clark."

"No, Pete, it was different. Lana was-"

"It's always about Lana."

"No it's not." He heard Pete laugh.

"When was the last time it wasn't about Lana?" Clark opened his mouth to say something and froze. "Exactly. Go back to bed."

"I can't stop thinking about it… about her."

"Are you going to shut about this if I hang up on you?"

"No," Clark answered through a smile. Pete sighed.

"I'll see you in fifteen minutes. And Kent?"

"Yeah?"

"You owe me." Pete hung up. Clark felt his mood lighten up a little, knowing his friend would be there, but something about that damn dream wouldn't stop nagging at him.

"She's hiding something…" he whispered to himself. He knew he had to go talk to her. He slid back onto his back, having the conversation with her in his head.

"KENT! You better not be asleep after I drug myself over here! Move it, Clark. You have some serious debt to repay me here." Clark smiled to himself when he heard Pete yelling outside. "And… I'm hungry!"

"So… are we stopping for food on this adventure?" Alex asked hopefully. Liz kept her eyes glued to the road, her face slightly sweaty and frantic. "Liz? I'm talking and to you, I might add… you being the only other person in the car." He paused and stared at her. She had no reaction to anything he said. "Oooook… Then I'll talk to… myself. Whitman, how are you? Good, good, you? Actually I'm a little hungry. I see, well gotta stay strong. Right, you're really an intelligent guy, Alex. Oh stop, really? No, no, I mean it. You're smart, musical, and embarrassingly handsome. You, sir, are a hottie. Oh, thank you… your wisdom is apparent." Alex looked over at Liz, who remained frozen in place. He shrugged. "You know, Alex, I like talking to you. I can't believe you're single! Oh, it's all the testosterone… it's too much for the ladies my age. One day I'll learn to tone it down. Whoa!" Liz jerked the steering wheel into a hard left turn, slamming Alex into his door. "Liz, what's the…" He glanced up at the building in front of them. "The hospital… Liz wha-"

"I just need to see someone, ok? Then we'll go get burgers."

"Burgers!" Alex's face lit up as he swung open his door. The second he stepped onto the asphalt, Liz latched onto his hand a pulled him across the parking lot through the hospital doors. He glanced around. Michael and Isabel were standing in the waiting room, staring at him. Maria was slumped in a chair. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "What's going on?" Liz walked around and stood in front of him. She looked up at him, pleading with her eyes.

"We need your blood." Alex stood there, frozen in silence. His smile slowly melted away.

"Repeat that."

"We need your blood, Alex. Please."

"What?" Alex backed away from all of them, falling into a chair across the room. "No way! No… freaking…way."

"Alex," Liz started toward him, "please. Max-"

"No, Liz! It's illegal, immoral, impossible, and lots of other negative words that start with 'i.' I mean, guys, this is a really bad idea. I'm not just going to give you my blood for no reason. I…"

Isabel slowly strutted over to Alex, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she stepped in front of him. "Alex, please." She stroked his cheek lightly. "My brother really needs your help." Alex looked at Isabel in shock for a moment, and gulped slightly. He turned his head sharply towards Liz.

"No fair," and Alex followed Isabel to an empty examination room. Liz and Maria followed them in, Maria, with her head bent slightly down.

Isabel brought the empty syringe up to Alex's arm. He pulled away quickly. "Guys, really, I'm bad with needles. I mean, terrified really." Isabel placed a hand on his arm.

"Alex, relax. This won't hurt a bit." Alex winced in anticipation, closing his eyes and turning his head away. Isabel held the syringe to Alex's arm, but did not stick the needle in. using her powers, she slowly drew Alex's blood into the syringe, until it was full. "All done!"

Alex opened his eyes sharply and stared at the vial full of thick red liquid. He took a deep breath and turned his head to Maria.

"I need to talk to you."

"Alex, really, can't it wait, I mean-"

"Now!" And Alex tugged Maria out of the door. They flew down the corridor to the empty cafeteria.

"Maria, what the hell is going on here?"

"Alex, I wish I could tell you, really, but-"

"Maria, cut the bullshit! How the hell was Isabel able to draw my blood?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Maria, has anyone ever tried to draw your blood? Hell, has anyone ever tried to stab you with anything?" Maria pulled her head back in confusion.

"What? Alex, how does that pertain to anything?"

"Because this is what happens!" Alex grabbed a fork from the container and before Maria could stop him, he rammed the tines into his skin. He handed the fork to Maria, who alternated her shocked expression between Alex's unblemished skin and the haphazardly bent tines on the fork. Alex looked at her with a stern expression on his face.

"So, you want to tell me how Isabel Evans was able to draw my blood?"


	3. Chapter 3

1**Chapter 2:**

**Elaborate Lives, Wild Ambitions**

Maria continued to stare at the mutilated fork for moment, before tossing the fork across the room. Alex ducked to avoid the flying metal object as it clattered in the corner of the empty cafeteria.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" Maria continued to sit at the cafeteria table, her vacant gaze directed at the area where the discarded fork lay.

"Why can't you just pretend that we're normal?" her voice was barely a whisper. Alex felt his anger melt away. He sat on the table next to her, wrapped one arm around her shoulder and squeezed her in a guy only the two of them could ever share.

"There isn't a day that goes by when I don't wish that we were normal... human. But, Maria, we're not. We're different, and if we're not careful, we could hurt someone." The color drained from Maria's face. Her head turned sharply to face Alex.

"Alex, were different!" Alex frowned with an amused, but slightly confused expression on his face.

"Maria, that's what I just said."

"No Alex, we're _different_. Alex, what did you do today?" Alex pursed his lips together, thinking.

"Well, I didn't eat burgers."

"Alex, focus!"

"Hm, I was in the car with Liz and she wasn't talking to me, so I started talking t myself. You know, I'm really starting to get sick of this whole let's push Alex away-"

"No Alex, what did Isabel do?"

"Well, she touched my cheek, and then she smiled at me, and she was really beautiful-"

"Alex!"

"Sorry, and she led me into a room and she had a syringe and... oh. Maria, what is going on here? What happened back in that room? I think I have the right to know, especially when it's endangering us as well." Alex no longer had Maria wrapped up in a brotherly hug, but stood before her, his face stoic. Maria stared at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Alex... I-" she began, her voice barely above a whisper, but was saved from having to continue as Liz burst through the swinging doors.

"Sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. The one in the waiting room seems to be out of order. What's going on here?" Alex stared at both girls in succession, no emotion playing on his face. His chest heaved up and down once in a silent sigh.

"Nothing apparently." His voice was cold, colder than ice, echoing with a hollowness that made both girls shudder. "I mean… I have no clue what the hell- and God! What I just did, I could get arrested for. You know what… I'm done. Either tell me what's going on, or this friendship is over."

Liz's eyes widened. "Alex, don't say things that-" Alex sharply turned his hard gaze toward her.

"What, Liz? That I don't mean" He laughed hoarsely to himself. "Cause I couldn't possibly mean that. I'm just stupid, naïve, gullible, weak, little Alex Whitman, who'll do anything for anyone." He ignored Liz and focused solely on Maria, who sat on the cafeteria table defeatedly. "I am not that person." Without another word he swept out of the room, the cafeteria doors swinging violently to accent his absence. The two girls sat in silence for a few moments before Maria spoke.

"Well, that went well," she said sarcastically, getting up to retrieve the fork that lay in the corner of the room. Fatigue showed in her movements and voice.

"It could have been worse."

"Tell me, Liz. How could it have been any worse?" She threw the errant fork into a side trash can, the metal object hitting the plastic bottom with a dull thud. "We should have told him."

"No!" Liz's voice rang throughout the cafeteria. "No one else can know. Alex doesn't need to be a part of this." Maria looked at Liz incredulously.

"Don't you get it? He's already a part of this! We- no. I take that back. YOU made him a part of this. God, Liz. We can trust Alex. I thought you would have been fighting for him. What is going on with you? I don't even know you anymore!" Liz tried to grab a hold of the blonde as she passed.

"Maria!-" But the girl had already exited the room. Liz sat in the empty cafeteria, her head in her hands as a headache slowly built. She closed her eyes, trying to block the voices nagging at her to give in and simply tell all of her secrets.

She was startled out of her meditation as a well known presence entered her awareness. She snapped her head around just as the person came in through the doors. Liz frowned for a moment, thinking. 'I'm such an idiot. How could I have let myself fall for him?' before plastering the brightest smile she could muster on her face.

"Max, what are you doing up?"

He sat down next to her. Heat radiated softly from him, causing Liz to shiver slightly.

"They let me go. Apparently I had some sort of 'miraculously recovery.'" They both chuckled at the meaning behind that statement. "How are you doing?" Liz nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Fine. I wasn't hurt." 'Thank God,' both thought, but for very different reasons. The two sat in a looming silence, each lost in his or her thoughts of the other.

"I- uh. Isabel told me what Alex did for us. Is he alright? I mean- do you think he'll say anything?" Liz sighed, closing here eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"He's angry, I mean, really, really angry. I don't think I've ever seen him this pissed before. But he's a really loyal friend. I don't think he'll tell anyone." Her voice was terse with pain.

"Liz, I really wish we could tell him but-" Liz held her hand up to Max's mouth to silence him.

"I know. I told Maria the same thing." Realizing she still had her hand to Max's mouth, she snatched the hand back quickly and after hesitating for a moment, again tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Umm- we should probably go. I'm sure Isabel is probably looking for you." Max said nothing and followed Liz out through the doors, reveling in the memory of Liz's fingers on his lips.

"Damn!" Kyle threw the file back into the cabinet. He rubbed his eyes. He'd been searching through the office for over an hour and still nothing. He glanced at his watch. "Dad'll be home soon," he thought. Kyle reached for the next file. Suddenly he froze his hand inches from the soft cardboard covering the sheriff's papers. He listened for a moment before shrugging it off. "Get a grip Valenti." His fingers grazed the files' surface.

"Ahem… uh-"

"Holy shit!!!" Kyle whirled around toward the door. "Whitman? What the hell are you doing in my house?" Alex leaned back against the door fame looking down at his feet.

"I came to talk-"

"To me? Oh…I get it. A spy." Alex looked up at him.

"What?" I'm just-"

"Liz sent you to see if I told anybody anything, right?"

"No, I need to… wait. Told anybody what?" Kyle coughed a laugh and pushed past Alex into the living room.

"You know what hurts the most? She sent the B-team… I mean you and not Maria."

"Kyle, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yeah, you think I'm gonna believe Liz didn't let you in on her secret? I'm not that stupid. You-" Kyle looked out the window as headlights reflected off the glass.

"You know…I don't need this." Alex backed out of the front door heading for the truck in the driveway. Kyle walked up to the glass watching as Alex slid into the passenger seat to talk to Sheriff Valenti. They talked for a moment before the truck lurched, backing out of the driveway. Alex glanced back to the window to see Kyle glaring at him.

Speeding through the streets, Alex tried to ignore the continuous tirade of questions Sheriff Valenti was frantically firing at him. He gave non-committal answers to each, his mind not on the conversation but on the events of the day. How had Isabelle been able to draw his blood? He didn't feel any needle. Hell, he didn't even know what a needle felt like. He noticed an ink pen on the floor of the car. Scooping it up he pressed it into his forearm. The plastic bent into an impossible loop. No way that girl got a needle into his arm. She would have be some kind of supernatural… "No."

"What? No what? Alex…you need to talk to me. I need to know what's going on."

"No…actually Sheriff I think you know too much." Valenti turned to look at Alex to find him glaring back in the dark. "What do you know about Isabel Evans? And don't try and pull a "Liz Parker" on me. I'm so tired of people lieing to me."

"Alex, son, I have no idea what you're talking about. Isabel…she…um…perfectly normal teenage girl."

"I'll bet. Pull over."

"What? Alex, we're miles away from you're hou-"

"Pull over!" Alex dropped his fist onto the dashboard of the truck creating a dent in the thick plastic. The car screeched to a halt and they sat in silence for a moment.

"Alex…"

"You're not going to tell me. Even if whatever secret you're keeping could hurt me…or worse Maria."

"I'm sorry. I pro-"

"Save it," Alex popped open the car door stepping out into the night. "Sorry about the car." He slammed the door closed and started walking waiting until Valenti's headlights were out of sight before taking off in a run. As the wind whipped by the trees blurs in his peripheral vision his mind wandered. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding something and whatever it was affect both him and Maria. No matter how mad at her he could get there was no way he was letting Max Evans and temptress Isabel hurt her. He stopped in front of his house. Seeing all the windows dark, he sighed. Alex let himself into the house, colappsing on the couch dropping his heel on top of a pile of magazines on the coffee table. His body hit auto pilot channel surfing with out actually looking at the screen.

"Alex, is that you out there?" He whirled around.

"Hey dad. I didn't know you were back there." He heard his dad laugh from his room. Alex concentrated his hearing sharpened.

"Those kids…sometimes they seem so alien." Alex laughed. "What's funny?"

"Um…Monkey wrestling on the tube. Wanna join?" Alex didn't have to hear his dad's response to know what he would say. He jumped off the couch to grab a bag of chips and froze his arm extended toward the bag. "You've got to be kidding me." He ran back to the table throwing the magazine off of a book that lay underneath. Aliens among Us, a stupid joke gift Maria had given him months ago. He had thought she had meant the two of them but what if… He opened the book to read the note she left him.

"To enlighten yourself, Whitman. Not everything is what it seems. Love, Maria." He hit himself in the head with the novel. She did everything but come out and say it.

"Dad I'm going out!"

"But you just got back."

"I have to get…a new razor. The ladies love it when I shave." _What? _He thought_. And the lame excuse award goes to…_

"Lock the door when you get back in." Alex shook his head smiling as he walked out of the door, walking a few yards before breaking into a run not slowing until his hand was right in from of Maria's door. KNOCK KNOCK!

"Alex…what the heck?" He dropped the book into her hands. She glanced down at it as a sly smile caught her lips. "Well, well…it certainly took you long enough."

The grey metal gleamed in the dark void, casting an eerie halo around its form. A lone figure sat just beyond the edge of the glow, scowling at the hunk of metal. The figure shifted slightly, grabbing something off of the ground. The figure made a throwing motion and a small stone flew out of his hand at an extremely fast rate toward the metal form. The pebble sped toward the form until, a few inches from the side, the rock slowed and changed direction, hitting the back of the barn with a dull thud. The figure stood, back erect, frustration and sadness playing across his face; he raised his fist over the metal form and began to bring it down-

"Clark?" Clark snatched his back away from the small ship in front of him.

"Clark? Can you hear me? Your mom said you were out here?" Using his x-ray vision, Clark could see Lana working her way toward the doors of the barn in which both he and the vehicle which brought him to earth hid. He panicked.

"Hold on just a second, Lana! I'll be right out!" Clark quickly threw the tarp lying on the ground back over the ship. He hurriedly composed himself before walking toward the door. Just as he reached for the handles the door swung open.

"There you are." She peered past Clark into the darkened barn. "What were you doing in here?" Clark smiled nervously and shifted his weight, trying to further hide the tarp-covered ship.

"Oh, nothing. Just... thinking." Thinking he had deterred her, Clark looked more closely at Lana. "Are you alright? You look pale."

"Your compliments are enthralling," she deadpanned. "Bad night. Don't worry about it. Besides, you don't look to hot yourself."

"I didn't sleep all that well either."

"Bad dreams?" she pushed. "You want to talk about them?"

"I- uh- don't remember them," he said haltingly. "Haw about you?"

"Yeah. I don't either." She smiled, somewhat knowingly. "So, are you going to let me in out of the heat or are you just gonna keep me in the doorway?" She looked pointedly into the darkness toward the hidden ship.

"I…uh…" he faltered, but was saved by the sound of a honking horn coming from the driveway.

"Hey Lana! You ready to go?" Chloe's shout echoed across the farm. As Clark was momentarily distracted by Chloe's interruption, Lana sighed silently and rolled her eyes. She quickly put a smile back on her face as Clark turned his attention back to her.

"Go? Where are you going?" Lana hesitated. Clark could see the wheels spin in her head.

"Oh… I'm meeting Aunt Nell in Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit with some relatives and uh… Chloe's coming with me to keep me company."

"Oh," Clark said quietly, somewhat questioningly. "Well- have fun." Lana smiled brightly.

"I'm sure it will be interesting. See you later, Clark." She smiled and standing on her tip toes, gave him a kiss on the cheek. Coming back down, she smiled again a Clark and then left.

"Bye-" He was still standing in the doorway of the barn, smiling, when Pete found him ten minutes later.

"Hey man. Was Lana just here?"

"Yeah, did you see her leave?" Pete slapped him on the back, laughing.

"No, man. But you're smiling like an idiot and that can only mean that Lana was here. So where'd she go?" Clark shook himself out of his daydream.

"Oh-uh. She said she was visiting some relatives in Albuquerque." Pete frowned, confused.

"I don't think Lana had any relatives outside of Kansas. At least, I've never heard of any."

"Well, she said she was meeting Nell there. Maybe she has some relatives we've never heard of, or she hasn't." Pete shook his head, continuing to frown.

"I just saw Nell at the Talon, complaining as usual. She was saying she had to come back for some sort of real estate issue and how she hoped it wouldn't take too long since she had to be back to work tomorrow." Clark slumped down onto the bench beside the barn, thinking.

"That's not like Lana… although, Chloe was going with her." Pete laughed knowingly.

"Oh man, with Chloe it can only mean trouble!" Clark sighed as he remembered something.

"Chloe had this article up about some waitress who'd been miraculously healed after being shot in New Mexico. But you don't think they-"

"Come on, this is Chloe we're talking about. She'll do anything to get a story, no matter how dangerous it is. So what do you want to do?" Clark stood, strength and determination filling every muscle of his body.

"We follow them, and make sure they stay out of trouble."


End file.
